Friday 27 January 2012

The Eastbourne Mini Guide 2012 is now hot off the press!

This pocket size publication is the FREE must-have for any visitor to Eastbourne packed with information on attractions, culture and events, seaside and countryside activities, shopping, pampering and dining plus entertainment and nightlife.

It’s been great to work on this publication alongside the designer at Southern Flair, interjecting new photography, vibrant colours and exciting new content. 2012 is event full with new highlights including the celebrations around the Queen's Diamond Jubilee with a carnival, torchlight procession and fireworks as well as the London 2012 Olympic Torch relay coming to Eastbourne and the Community Live Site at Princes Park with a big screen to capture all the atmosphere and action. Some other exciting anniversary celebrations are highlighted too with Airbourne in its 20th year and the Beer Festival in its 10th… both popular, fantastic events I’m sure you wont want to miss!

As well as new highlights to the events calendar there have been new attractions to draw visitors attention to, including Sussex Voyages Beach Pontoon coming soon by the Pier, WestSkates’ large indoor skate park and Treasure Island, opening soon, to name but a few…

Its vibrant design sits alongside the Eastbourne Holiday Guide (which was available in December) and compliments its content in more detail to enhance the visitor experience. A handy map, detailing where most of the featured attractions included in the guide can be found, is located in the centre pages and there’s even a discount voucher to one of the attractions inside…so don’t miss out!

The 60,000 we print will be distributed via Tourist Information Centres across Sussex, Kent and Surrey, at forthcoming leaflet exchanges in Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead and Michelham Priory plus to conference delegates and at our events throughout the year. You can also pick up your copy from the Eastbourne Tourist Information Centre or Seafront Office at the Bandstand. So why not collect yours today and start enjoying all the wonderful experiences Eastbourne has to offer on its doorstep!

Laura
Marketing Officer

Monday 16 January 2012

Eastbourne sunshine - an expert's guide!

Some may call today Blue Monday but for us, here in Eastbourne, it brings good news! Eastbourne has just been confirmed as the sunniest place in 2011 according to renowned meteorologist Philip Eden.

Philip has written for the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph as well as managing his own websites weather-uk.com and climate-uk.com, and has confirmed that Eastbourne recorded a huge 1962 hours of sunshine during 2011, with an average 5 hours 23 minutes per day.

And with a sunny start to the year already with lovely sunshine this past weekend, we're hopeful for another sunny year but it's all down to our resident weather expert Paul Quanstrom (Eastbourne Borough Council's Health and Environment Manager) who has to record our sunshine data every day! We caught up with Paul to find out what he makes about today's exciting news and exactly how he measures Eastbourne's sunshine...

So Eastbourne has been confirmed as the sunniest place again in 2011, you must be pleased?
Of course; I enjoy being the ‘bloke who does the weather’ and this is the icing on the cake as it were for the town.

What’s it like being the man responsible for the weather in the sunniest place in the whole country? You must feel under quite a bit of pressure to take good sunshine readings for Eastbourne!
Yes I guess it is crucial I take accurate readings in case we should be challenged by our competitors! The readings are taken by a sun recorder, which records sunshine by literally burning a trace in a piece of card so I have to visit the weather station every day to change it, even Christmas Day!

Which month(s) tend to be the sunniest for Eastbourne so we can tell our visitors when the best time is to visit?
Well, as we all know, the longest day is June 21st so 2-3 months either side of this are the months when we get most sunshine. In the last 2 years we have had exceptionally high sunshine hours in April, irritatingly only just short of the all time record set in 1893. As a rule, May to August are the best sun months with a daily average of 8 hours.

And why are we so lucky with our high hours of sunshine?
It is probably due to 2 factors; firstly, as a coastal location we tend to be free of cloud as convection tends to blow the clouds inland thus keeping the coast clear and secondly, we have a unique microclimate in Eastbourne as the town is ‘protected’ from the prevailing south westerly wind by the South Downs. On a sunny day you will often see clouds blowing to the North of the town around Polegate and off towards Hastings keeping us in the sunshine!

Where is our sunshine recorder and why is it in that spot?
It is on the roof of our offices at 1 Grove Road. It has to be in an elevated position with a clear ‘line of sight’ to the horizon from East-South-West to ensure we capture all sunshine on the daily card.

How do you take a sunshine reading?
The sunshine recorder (Campbell Stokes recorder) is an old, arguably an antique piece of kit, which has a glass ball, which focuses sunlight onto a card into which a trace is burnt. The card is graduated into hourly sections and the daily sunshine is represented by the length of the trace. Despite being an antique, it is a highly effective method of recording the sun and is recommended by the Met Office to whom all our weather readings are sent

What’s your favourite thing to do in the Eastbourne sunshine outside of work?
I’d rather be outdoors than stuck inside; I enjoy regular walks on the Downs and in the Summer I try to swim in the sea every day, weather permitting!

We need you to get your crystal ball out now! What do you think 2012 has in store for Eastbourne sunshine?
That’s a tough one even for the Met Office with their multi-million pound state-of-the-art computers! I would say that, subjectively on the basis that we have had unexceptional summers for the last few years, we are probably overdue a decent summer so I will stick my neck out and say that it’ll be a good year for sun with higher temperatures. What’s the betting it pours down!

Thanks Paul. Very interesting to hear about the method used to record our sunshine and take a peek below to see what the sunshine recorder and sun cards look like!

Eastbourne's sun recorder

Sun cards
Above are 3 sun cards - winter, equinoctial and summer. These vary in length as there is more sun in the summer (obviously!) and they are in different positions in the recorder to follow the sun's different position relative to the horizon throughout the year. The winter card runs from mid Oct to end Feb, equinoctial from March to mid April/Sept to mid Oct and summer from mid April to end August. The three cards above show decent trails, the winter card (9/12/2011) has 6.7 hours, eqinoctial (14/10/2011) 8.0 hours and summer (31/8/-1/9/2011) 11.0 + 1.8 hours.

Today's sunrise over the sea - photo taken by Paul!






Tuesday 10 January 2012

Saxophones on Eastbourne shore

Well this photo certainly brought a smile to our faces in the office when we spotted it on twitter on Friday! The lovely sunny weather on Friday and Saturday led to something of a photo frenzy on twitter over the weekend with lots of residents and visitors out and about snapping away in the January sunshine.

From stunning photos of Eastbourne Pier to Sovereign Harbour at night, there is certainly a lot of photography talent in Eastbourne but it was this photo that really captured our imagination.

Photograph courtesy of Brighton Togs

A pair of sax players on Eastbourne beach looking as if it's the most natural thing in the world!

Let us know if you know the musicians and tweet us your best photos from the weekend or share them in our flickr group. The challenge is now on to find the next quirky Eastbourne photo!

Emma

Monday 9 January 2012

All the fun of the (Wedding) Fair!

It is said that Christmas and New Year is the busiest time for couples to get engaged and for all those that did there was the Eastbourne Wedding Fair at the Winter Garden this weekend, from 7-8 January.

It was held in the Floral Hall and Congress Suite in the Winter Garden and was a sell-out for exhibition space! There were lots of visitors tweeting over the weekend too!

With over 100 exhibitors it was a busy set-up day on Friday with all the staff in the Winter Garden busy helping. Even though the exhibition in itself created quite a buzz, our best bit of the day was the real live Services wedding, which took place in the Gold Room on Saturday. The couple used the catwalk entrance and the stage was all dressed - I imagine it was what a lot of young brides to be would have wanted! The bride and groom looked amazing and had a real glow – it was wonderful! When the bride was waiting to go into the room with her father by her side, the bride seemed so calm and obviously ready to undertake her vows… very touching.

Along with the wedding in the Gold Room, the exhibition had three fashion shows each day, showing off the latest bridal gowns and mother to be outfits, using professional models; it was a real experience for visitors.

With some of our Conference Members exhibiting as well, including Impromtu Jazz, Grand Hotel, Lions Hotels, York House Hotel, and The Star at Alfriston, it was a fantastic event to start the year in Eastbourne!

Gill
Conference Manager

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Eastbourne: 12 for 2012


So here we are in 2012 - a big year for Britain and a big year for Eastbourne! With lots of us back at work, school and college today, I think we all need something to look forward to so we've compiled a top 12 for 2012 to give you just a taster of what's on offer in the UK's sunniest place this year (the sun will be back soon, we're sure of it!)...

Airbourne: 9 - 12 August 2012
Get set for a very special four days in August as Airbourne:
Eastbourne International Airshow celebrates its special 20th anniversary year. Look forward to four days of dynamic flying, arena action, replica aircraft, ground exhibitions, Bandstand concerts, fireworks and much more!

Eastbourne Sunshine Carnival: 2 June 2012
The popular Eastbourne Carnival is back - bigger and better than ever before after a huge campaign to resurrect it.

Eastbourne Fiesta / Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations: 2 - 5 June 2012
Enjoy Eastbourne's free festival of fun, fusion and culture with live food theatre, band stage, dancing and much more - all set on the seafront! Expect a few surprises in 2012 to mark the Queen's 60th year on the throne!

The London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay: 17 July 2012
Enjoy a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Olympic Flame up close as it passes through Eastbourne in the lead up to the 2012 Games.

Titanic Memorial Concert: 15 April 2012
Mark 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic at Eastbourne Bandstand with a special memorial concert and the unveiling of a new plaque in memory of John Wesley Woodward, an Eastbourne bandsman who was playing on board the ill-fated ship.

Sister Act: 24 January - 4 February 2012
The smash hit West End musical is on its way to Eastbourne's Congress Theatre starring Corrie's Denise Black and Brookside's Michael Starke.

Eastbourne Beer Festival: 4 - 6 October 2012
Enjoy a pint of Beachy Head Original Ale or Golden Arrow as the popular Eastbourne Beer Festival returns to the Winter Garden. Top tip: get your tickets early as they sell out quick! Tickets on sale from July.

Try glamping in Eastbourne!
New for 2012, VisitEastbourne.com will be offering the chance to book a break in a Big Sky Tipi! Unwind around the camp fire and experience the tranquility of tipi living - within easy access of the South Downs National Park and a short walk from Herstmonceux.

Gibson / Martelli (igloo) - VISITOR: 28 January - 1 April 2012
Inspired by the artists' travels to the snowy mountains of the Canadian Rockies, Towner's latest exhibition will include a full-size replica of a trappers' cabin.

Murder Mystery Treasure Trail
Follow the Murder Mystery Treasure Trail, a walking tour taking in the seafront and town centre solving clues and eliminating a gallery of suspects as you go! Treasure Trail packs cost £5 and are available from the Tourist Information Centre, The Mowbray and Treasure Trail kiosk (open seasonally only).

AEGON International Tennis Championships: 16 - 23 June 2012
Enjoy a star-studded week of tennis at the glorious Devonshire Park featuring top players from around the world battling it out in the prestigious grass court tournament.

Get active!
As the gateway to the South Downs National Park and with the coastline offering plenty of options for some water action, get active in 2012! Why not sign up for the Eastbourne Half Marathon in March, take on the Beachy Head Marathon in October, or try something new at Eastbourne Extreme? Ready, set, go!

*All dates and event info correct at time of writing but subject to change at any time. Check VisitEastbourne.com for up to date information.

What are you waiting for? Get your diary and start planning your 2012 by the sea!

Emma

A New Dawn for Eastbourne

Happy New Year everyone! 

Scanning through our Flickr photos today, we were so impressed with this 'Sunrise over the Pier' shot by Jean-Francois Phillips, that we just had to feature it as our Photo of the Week on VisitEastbourne.  Given the start of the New Year - a sunrise seemed quite appropriate!

Sunrise over the Pier, by Jean-Francois Phillips
This sublime shot has received lots of positive comments on Flickr - and quite rightly so in our view. 

Don't forget you can upload your own photos to our Flickr group - we try to select one a week to feature in the rotating images at the top of the VisitEastbourne home page.

Join our Flickr Group at http://www.flickr.com/groups/visiteastbourne

Tracey